This is one of the very best restaurants in LA, if not on the west coast. Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali have teamed up to create bliss.

Now first of all, the whiskey. There's not a lot of it -- in fact the selection is pretty small, and includes none of our barometers. But that's the point -- everything they have is off-the-beaten-path. Black Maple Hill? Van Winkle? Four different Murray McDavids? St. George and Charbay? Bravo! This is EXACTLY what we need to see more of. You don't need to have a huge selection, you just need to have a few things to surprise and appease the whiskey folks. Thank you, Nancy!

By the way, the St. George went really well with the octopus. And on a recent visit, I found a 1990 Caol Ila that paired great with the braised beef ravioli [the CA is gone]. Most notably, as of late 2008, they've added a ribeye to the menu -- it is without any doubt at all one of the very best pieces of meat I've ever eaten. And I've eaten a lot of meat.